Before he had been called away from life, the holy Bishop prayed for an
increase
of saintly relics for his grave-yard.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
, p.
503, and Index Chronologicus ad ANN.
dcxxx.
, p.
189.
,26 "
128
In his account of Irish localities,
See AncientandPresentStateofthe
11
Bishops of
568 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 25.
a " faire " Church-yard. "9 There he gathered around him a numerous
company of monks, who according to primitive usage lived in separate cells. He also established a school, which obtained great distinction in his time. Nor are we to take the statement, as quite exact, that St. Barr erected a special cathedral at Cork ; for, it is probable, such a church differed not from his monastic one. There can be little question about his having been consecrated bishop, as many other abbots were ; but, for a long time after his death, we obtain only very uncertain and imperfect accounts concerning the Cork bishops, who were his successors. The school of St. Barr or of his monastery is only particularly alluded to in the tract called his Life. It is
Old Cathedral of Cork.
little spoken of in our more ancient documents. 130 It seems probable that the early cathedral of Cork was of very moderate size, and of primitive construction ; as during the middle ages and down to the last century, the church which served that purpose was one of very humble architectural pretensions. It passed into Protestant possession, and was used for their
I
worship until i725,'3 when it fell into decay and was then taken down, in
order to be rebuilt. An ancient round tower formerly stood in the church- yard, a little detached Jrom the cathedral. The new church was erected on
William
" Here on a
Priests and their in Theology,
Allingham says :
hillock, Bairre, alias Finn Bairre, ' the fair
dices, against
his own
quaint
founded his little church in the seventh History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. ,
'— — Barry probably from his complexion
•
,3°
"
century. "
129 See Dr. Hanmer, who adds to the
sect, iv. , and n. 63, pp. 314 to 317.
131 It is represented in the accompanying illustration, copied from that contained in
foregoing account, "wherein now standeth
a watch Tower builded the Danes. '— by
the
of the Cork Historical
and
"Journal
"Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 108, 109. The Archaeological Society," voi. i. , p. 97, by
Doctor then introduces a Legend, in which Gregor Grey, and by him drawn and very amusingly he displays peculiar preju- engraved on the wood.
terms.
See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 569 the site of the former one, and finished in 1735, when it was opened for
2
religious service. ^
According to the legend given in one of our Saint's Lives, St. Bairre went
from Cork to Rome in company with Eolang, Maedhog of Ferns, David of
Cill Muine, and twelve monks, so that he might take the grade of bishop. ^
Gregory, who was successor to Peter at that time, raised his hand over the
head of our saint to confer consecration, when a flame came on it from
Heaven while he was reciting the words of the ritual. Then Gregory said :
" Go to your house, and the Lord himself will read the gradation of Bishop
for you. " This prophecy was fulfilled, when Bairre returned to his own
church. Again it is related, that some time after our Saint settled at Corcaid.
1
St. Maccuirp, 34 the master of Barrus, returned from Rome, and was received
withhonouronhisarrival. HerelatedtothesaintallthingsthatSt. Gregory toldhimwhenatRome. Theseincidentsbeingheardof,severalothersaints came from various churches. On a day appointed, they all entered into a church and prayed, expecting the accomplishment of a Divine mystery. Whileprpying,theAngelsofGoddescendedandappearedtothem. The Angels raised St. Barr and St. Maccuirp aloft with them, and consecrated them as Bishops. Then letting them down near the altar, the manner of their episcopal consecration was manifested. Accompanying such a mira- culous occurrence, we are told, that oil broke forth from the earth near the altar, until it came over the shoes of those there standing. Then, all gave thanks to God for such miraculous events, and glorified those Saints, whom the Angels had thus consecrated. x35 On that very day, St. Barr and St. Maccuirp, as Bishops, with other clerics, marked out the cemetery of St. Barr's Church, which is called Corchadh. They afterwards consecrated it. This they also promised in the Lord's name, that after the Day of Judgment, hell should not close on any person, who should have been interred in it.
When the burial-ground attached to Cork Cathedral had been consecrated, the holy bishop Maccuirp requested that his body should be the first laid in that cemetery. His prayer was heard ; for immediately he was seized with illness. Having happily died, he was the first to be honourably interred within the Cemetery at Corchaige, by the venerable Bishop Barrus and other
holy clergymen. The deceased Bishop Maccuirp was a very saintly man, and possessed of much wisdom. ^6 If we are to admit, that Mac-corb, the preceptor of our Saint, had heard the instructions of Pope Gregory the Great, Barr must have been too young to have been consecrated bishop, about the year 600. Nor did St. Barr obtain distinction, it is supposed, until several lateryears had elapsed. ^ We may regard the account of Cork having grown into a large city, astrueonlyatatimelongsubsequenttooursaint'sdeath. Probablyavillage sprung up around Barr's monastery, situated in a part of the present city, and that it gradually grew into a large town before the arrival of the Danes.
133 See Dr. Charles Smith's "Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork,'' vol. i. , book ii. , chap, ix. , p.
372«
the Office of our saint, to which allusion has been made by the Bollandists. By them we are told, regarding St. Barr, "ad preces Ealongi elevatur in aera," ic.
I36 So also says Hanmer, speaking of this
"
133 The Rev. Thomas Olden remarks :
Barra's tra—vels are scarcely referred to in interment at Cork, but giving a different '"""
his Life. '
Leslie
Stephen's Dictionary
name
:
Torpereus, Bishop
of Cloan, his
of National Biography," vol. xix. , p. 36.
134 In the Coaex Kilkenniensis, this name
is spelled Meccuirp, and in the Bodleian
copy Maccuyribius.
135 Some reference to these miraculous
occurrences appears to have been found in
(Barr's) school-master, was the first—man that "
was buried in that church-yard. " Chro-
nicle of Ireland," p. 109.
x3? See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesias-
tical History ol Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sect, iv. , p. 314.
"
57© LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Septembersj.
These foreigners are said to have been founders of Cork, according to
x8
received tradition. 3 This statement has been questioned,'-^ however, and
the account we find in the Irish Annals of abbots presiding there, long before the arrival of the invading Danes, proves sufficiently that it had been a town of importance, which grew around the monastic school established, even so early as the seventh century.
CHAPTER III.
PERIOD OF ST. FINBARK'S SOJOURN AT CORK—DEATH OF HIS MASTER, BISHOP MACCUIRP, AND HIS BURIAL THERE—FINBARR's SELECTION OF A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR—HE VISITS I- 1 AMA AT DESERTMORE TO OBTAIN RELICS—FINBARR's VISIT TO CLOYNE, WHERE HIS DEATH TAKES PLACE—HIS INTERMENT AT CORK—ECCLESIASTICAL TRADITIONS OF THE SEE—CALENDAR CELEBRATIONS OF ST. FINBARR's FEAST— M KMORIALS—CONCLUSION.
Aperiodoffour 1 issaidtohave fromthetimeoursainterected years, elapsed,
the church of Corcach, until his death. In that place, St. Barry remained, but for what period is not exactly known, our ecclesiastical historians being
divided in on the opinion
subject.
2 After the death of his
master, Bishop
Maccuirp, St. Barr had some hesitation as to the selection of his father
confessor. He therefore thought of going to the holy senior, Eoling,3 that
he might have him as his spiritual director, or to ask him if this were
not possible, what other person could be recommended. It was supposed,
by those well informed, this holy Senior, Eoling,* had baptised our Saint.
Inspired with a prophetic spirit, Eoling had a presentiment, that St. Barry
would visit him. He thus announced the matter to his monastic family :
"
This day a holy guest, with his companions, will come to us : therefore, prepare a bath and refreshments for their arrival. " Soon, the man of Cod was received with honour. On saluting the guests, St. Eoling's attendant
said
:
* The holy Senior, our Master, is very much rejoiced at your arrival.
Letyourshoesbetakenoff, thatyourfeetmaybewashedwithwater,and
afterwards bathe. " St. Barr said, that it would be more pleasing to salute
the senior, than to bathe. When the attendant related these words to Eoling,
"
accept our hospitality for this night, that on to-morrow he may proceed to his
he thus replied :
own cell. There I will salute him ;
•3s See the local historian, Smith's " An-
cient and Present State of the County and
City of Cork," vol. i. , book ii. , chap, ix. , pp.
362, 363, 364. Also Rev. Dr. Lanigan's
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sect, iv. , and n. 62, pp. 314, 316. '» The Rev. C. B. Gibson, in his " His-
Tell St. Barr to allow his feet to be washed, and let him
"
nion ;" but he says, that the Danes may stone
indignantly rejects Smith's
received opi- and r—aths. In the church-yard is Olan's
have built the walls of Cork, when they first
quietly possessed this city in 1172. Pre- viously, they are only recorded in ancient annals, as having burnt or plundered it. See, vol. ii. ,chap. xiii. , p. 306.
Chapter hi. —' The MS. Codex Kil-
"
kenniensis has it,
'See Archdeacon Henry Cotton's
height— and
iv. annoium erat," &c.
"
for, on the seventh day, I must go to
saint's Life the name is found written Colin-
gus or Coling. In the Bodleian copy it is
written Eolyngus.
* Eoling is thought to have been the same
as St. Olan, patron of Aghabulloge, a parish in the diocese of Cloyne. In the vicinity of the church are many remains of olden times,
tory of the County and City of Cork," such as pillars, circles, oghams, rock-basins
Fasti
Ecclesiae Hibernicse," vol. i. , Diocese of St. Olan's well, by Mr. Windale, in August,
Cork, p. 215. 1851. See Mr. Richard Caulfield's "Life In the Codex Kilkenniensis copy of our of St. Fin Barre," n. (a), p. 19.
6 feet 6 inches in cap, a circular concave stone, about which there are many tradi- tions. A very fine stone, 12 feet 6 inches
in height, with an ogham inscription, was for many years used as a bridge across a narrow part of the river Dallaheena, which runs near. This stone was removed and placed upright in its original position near
a fine
ogham
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 571
him, and then we shall both salute each other, for this is pleasing to God. Such a great man should not undergo so much labour on my account ; and therefore, I will not see him, until I have had some labour for his sake. " So
it happened, as he required ; for St. Barr returned the day following. Sevendayshavingelapsed,Eolingwenttovisithim. Asthevisitorentered the church of Corchagia, he was honourably received by its venerable Bishop Barms. TheSeniorimmediatelyfelldownbeforethebishop'sfeet,saying, " Promise to accept from me, whatsoever I shall give you. " When Barrus had
u
promised compliance with that request, the holy Senior said : forever,mybody,mysoulandmyplace,toGodandtoyou. " Oursaintthen
Behold, I offer wept, and declared, that he desired to make precisely the like offering to Eolang.
"Thisshallnotbeso foryouaredearertoand replied : ;
The
greaterwithGodthanIam. ButIdemandaremunerationformyoffering from you, namely, that we should expect resurrection in the same place. "5
"
Senior
St. Barrus replied :
holy
That shall be granted you ; but you have not yet solved
my enquiry regarding your being my father confessor, for which purpose I have come to you. " St. Eoling said to him: "You will have the true confessor and friend of your soul, who is Christ ; he will now take your hand out of my hand, and hear your most pure confession. " We are told, that a great multitude of Archangels and Angels being then present, and a choir of faithful and holy men standing around, Christ our Lord took the hand of the most blessed pontiff, Barrus, from the hand of the holy senior Eoling. Having heard Barr's religious confession, our Lord dismissed him. The
6 preceding occurrence took place," it is said, at the cross of Coling, and from
such day until the death of St. Barrus, on account of its excessive brightness, his hand could not be looked upon by men, as a glove was always placed about it.
Before he had been called away from life, the holy Bishop prayed for an increase of saintly relics for his grave-yard. Then came his Angel who said :
44 Go to the up
of Criomthann, for there are relics of On Bishops. "
country
the morrow, he went to Desertmore, where he met Fiama, son of Eogan, and a synod was there engaged burying relics which he desired to obtain. He
asked what had been they
when Fiama ,l An
of the Lord spoke to me last night, and told me to come for those relics, and so I brought them away from where they had been. " Bairre then said, that very
cause brought him from home, and when Fiama asked what was to be done,
doing,
replied
;
Angel
received for reply, that the relics should be left with him. said Fiama, M and I will announce to you its reward.
That is well,"
" At
be the place good, and let there be veneration on earth for your successors. '' Wherefore, Fiama deserved giving the body of Christ to our
saint, on the day of his death. ?
When the departure of Holy Barrus was near, he told a few of his favoured
disciples that he should die in his own church. By this we are probably to understand the one he had founded at Cloyne, as appears from the context met with in his Lives. Knowing where he was to depart from this life, Barr
8
proceeded towards the cell of Cluain, to the holy Cormachus and
Buchenius. 9 Fiama also went there to meet him. Bairre then said " It is
:
5 See Dr. Hanmer's "Chronicle of Ire- 7 Such is the account as given in the land," p. 109, where Coling is called, Burgundian Manuscript Life of Fin Bairre,
chap. xxii.
8
The Codex Kilkenniensis MS. has it, "ad cellam Cluaine. "
'The Codex Kilkenniensis MS. adds:
relics be "
yours
from this to the of
Day Judgment. "
first," replied
Bairre,
" Cloane. "
Calangus a reverend Man, then Abbot of
6 In the Codex Kilkenniensis, it is called, " Crux Colingi. "
"
Let this place and its
57* LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 25.
time for me to be released from the prison of this body, and go to the King of Heaven, since now I have His summons. " When this amiable champion of Christ came to the cell of Cluain, and saluted ihe monks that
10
Having received the holy Viaticum of Christ's body and blood from Fiama," he gave up his most happyspirittoGod. ThereacrossinthemiddleofCluaincellafterwards
stood. 12 A
A multitude of men, wearing divers habits, 1 ? having been assembled, our
saint's body was brought with due honour to his own city of Corcaid. There it was buried. It is also related, that our saint died at Cloyne. 14 Moreover, it is stated, that on the occasion of his interment, the sun stood in the
lived there he was immediately seized with infirmity.
great
number of saints were around him at that time.
Heavens for fifteen 1 * his
days. Thence, body
had been translated to Cork,
to be deposited in a silver shrine.
16
Afterwards, his relics were raised by the
venerable Bishops, Abbots, Monks, Clergymen, Nuns, by numbers of the
common people assembled for this occasion. Miracles were wrought at the
in their silver shrine. ? These are said to have been preserved in the Cathedral. 18 When he was in the City of Cork, the holy bishop Fursaeus10 sawagoldenladderplacedatthetombofthismanofGod. TheLegend states, it was intended for taking up souls, to the Kingdom of Heaven. Thither, the topmost part of that ladder appeared to reach. The exact year
time. With psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles, these relics were placed 1
ao The city of Cork is situated on the River Lee21 in the southern part of a
of Finbar's death, not being known, it is conjecturally placed about a. d. 623.
county bearing the like name, and forming part of Munster province.
22
This
"Quorum memoriam superius fecimus. " Yet, we look in vain for their names, in the previous part of this Life. Perhaps, in its
present state, it may be regarded as imper- lect.
IO
lie "received the Sacrament at the hands of Calangus, ended his days, and was
16
The Bollandists remark, that the fables
"
brought to the church-yard of old Corke, xxv. , De S. Barro vel Finbarro Ep.
and there interred : shortly after followed Calangus, and then Bishop Torperus the
first Bishop of Cloane, Finbarry the first Bishop of Corke and Calangus the first
Abbot of Cloane, keep together in the dust of the earth, waiting (or the resurrection at
Manu
Corcagiensi in Hibernia, sect, ii. , num. 15, p. 144.
17 "In loculo argenteo," says the Codex Kilkenniensis.
the Last Day. " Ireland," p. 109.
" to the According
—Hanmer's " Chronicle of
Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork," p. 4.
19 His festival is recorded at the 1 6th of January, and at that date his Life is given,
in the First Volume of this work, Art. i.
Burgundian script Life of Fin Bairre, chap. xxvi.
20
''
Ecclesiastical "At a time when the Life of our saint, History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. ,
as found in the Codex Kilkenniensis had been written.
'3 Could we be sure this account had
been contemporaneous or nearly so with St.
Barr's interment, it would imply, that Giraldus Cambrensis afterwards, changed different religious costumes were worn, by a letter, and it was written, Sauranus. See our monksand or "
primitive
by lay confraternities.
clergy, perhaps Britannia," Division, Hibernia, vulgo Ireland. Momonia, Anglice Mounster, p. 38.
22
14
According to an old Office of St.
Barrus, formerly read in the Cathedral Suyskens, whilst the Irish of his day called Church at Cork, a copy of which was in it Corcah, the English named it Corcke. He
"
' s " Sol autem illius diei spatium adeo renum fluvium, qui inde versus Meridiem
protelavit, quod per quindecim dies occasum fluens, post aliquot milliaria mari Hibernico "
penitus refutavit.
possession of the Bollandists. adds :
Sedet hsec ad Sauranum seu Save-
in this office are so monstrous that they do
not deserve attention, and the only conclu-
sion to be drawn from it was that St. Barr
had great reverence paid him in the
Cathedral and by the people of Cork. See
Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. , Septembris
,8
See Richard Caulfield's "Annals of St.
See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's sect, iv. , p. 315.
21
In William Camden's Description of Ireland, he remarks, that Ptolemy having designated this river by the name Daurona ;
According to the Bollandist editor,
illabitur. " It is evident from this passage,
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 573 city is called Corcach by the Irish and Corcagia by the Latin writers. St.
Finbarr is as the first founder, usually regarded
bishop
church at Cork. That he was venerated there, and as a bishop, would
appear
Litany
"
the
25 He is thus commemorated, in the Litany
Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iii. , No. xxxii. , May, 1867, pp. 390, 391.
of " et decern sanctos /Enguss : Septem
itself, containing
episcopos cum septingentis servis Dei, qui cum B. Barrio et S. Nessano jacent Corcagise,
quorum nomina scripta sunt in ccelis, hos
"
Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xvii Martii.
omnes invoco in auxilium. "
See Colgan's
Patrono, p. 630.
"See Harris' Ware, vol. i. ,
"Bishops of
Cork," p. 556.
2? The Rev. Andrew C. Robinson, M. A. ,
attributed to St. 2 * This latter saint's death ^Engus.
from the
beingreferredtoabouttheyear824; itseemsthatSt. Barrhadbeenregarded
as the ninth theCathedralChurchatCorkgoesbacktoremoteantiquity; butitisthought
so
persons,
St. Barr there founded a Cathedral, in the beginning of the seventh
as beatified among
early
century.
6 while on the or near it, he also established a century,* site,
great seminary of learning. ^ At present, not a trace of the ancient buildings remains, and we possess very little evidence of what formerly existed there, except in some general outlines derived from entries in the Chapter Books. A Round Tower28 stood near the Cathedral, and to the east of it, during the middle ages, while the steeple was towards the west, both being apparently detached a considerable distance from the church. 29 The old Tower was twelve feet in circumference and more than one hundred feet in height before the middle of the seventeenth century. * From historical data, confirmed by a curious
archaeological discovery, we know that a church and cemetery existed there
1
The former Protestant Cathedral, as we are told, was built on the site of the early church, a few of the remains of which
for the last six hundred years. *
had been introduced into the more modern structure. *
2
This latter was
29 A building near the church, and situ- ated in an island, is called the Abbey.
30 See «' The Tour of the French Traveller, M. de la Boullaye Le Gouz, in Ireland, a. d. 1644," p. 30.
31 With respect to the cemetery, a very remarkable discovery was made, when laying the foundation of the north-east pier for the new cathedral. About this spot the limestone substratum dipped, so that in order to come
at the solid rock, it was necessary to dig down to the depth of about thirty feet. At
that depth, an ancient burial place presented
human remains for about six feet in depth, and over these was a stratum of decayed vegetable —matter mixed withearthandsmallboulders animmense boulder lying on the adjacent rock. Imme- diately above these objects, there was a De S. Nessano Prsesbytero. Corcagiensi second burial place, about seven feet deep, and over it another stratum of earth, mixed with fragments of old buildings, por- tions of decayed timber and other vegetable debris, to a depth of about three feet. Over
that Suyskens makes the extraordinary geographical mistake of placing Cork on the Severn River in England instead of on the River Lee in Ireland.
23 See Sir James Ware's " De Prsesulibus
Hibernise Commentarius," De Episcopis
Corcagiensibus, p. 206.
24 See the Irish and Latin version of this
Litany, extracted from the Book of Leinster, and published with an English translation in
recently wrote an interesting work on " St.
Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork. " It was pub-
lished, with several fine illustrations, at
Cork, 1897. Roy« 8vo. From this we far as a minute examination of the contents
derive many interesting particulars regarding
the saint and the ecclesiastical history of
Cork.
would lead, ethnological peculiarities of a very marked type were exhibited. These are described in further detail by Richard Caulfield, LL. D. , who was an eye-witness
28
"
In a Map of Cork, attached to the
2* and of the patron
all these remains was the cemetery of more' recent times ; so that there were three dis- tinct places of sepulture on the spot, and so
of the excavations and what they revealed, ""
Pacata Hibernia," of Sir George Carew,
there is a representation of the watche," as recorded in his work, Annals of St.
an object, which, from its plan of construc- tion, appears to have been the Round Tower, as a ladder is placed up against its entrance.
See chap, xix. , p. 690.
Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork. " Introduction, pp. xi. to xiii.
32 See Mr. and Mrs. Hall's " Ireland* its Scenery, Character," <\c. , vol. i. , p. 19.
2s The of origin
574 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September25.
removed in 1865, and since then, a superb structure has replaced that Cathedral.
Moreover, the bishops,33 comharbas34 or successors of St. Barri are recorded as having succeeded him in every age from his own to the present period. The monastery of St. Finbar is said to have been in or near Cork. 35 The succession of its abbots is clearly—although not consecutively— traced in our
eleventh/ and twelfth centuries.
Cormac, King of Desmond, appointed Canons Regular of St. Augustine, in honour of St. John the Baptist, about the year 1134. 41 His son and successor, Diermit, enriched it with possessions about a. d. 1173. This foundation retained its old name for many years, being called the Monastery ofSt. Finnbar'sCave. Themonasteryfoundedoriginallybyoursaintissaid to have been also called Gill Abbey, from Gilla-^Eda O'Mugin, its former abbot, and afterwards bishop of Cork, who died in
1173. 43 The succession of its abbots was preserved unbroken to the thirty-third year of Queen Elizabeth's reign, when its possessions
33 The list of Cork bishops before the this monastery near Cork had been first
Anglo-Norman Invasion, as gleaned from erected by St. Barr, and, contrary to the our Annals, is exceedingly meagre ; unless opinion of Sir James Ware, that it was
Annals, through
the seventh,36 37 38 tenth,39 eighth, ninth,
To that monastery, we are informed,
we are to suppose, that many of the chief
ecclesiastical superiors there were both
bishops and abbots. The immediate suc-
cessor of St. Finbar in the See is said to hare
been his disciple, St. Nessan, whose feast
occurs at the 1st of December, but the year
of whose death is not known. At 874 is
recorded the death of Aedh Domhnal, bishop
of Corcach, who was a learned scribe. At
891 died Soerbhreathach, son of Connadh,
scribe, wise man, bishop and abbot of Cor-
cach. In 958 Cathmogh, abbot of Lismor
and bishop of Corcach, died. In 1057
Mughron Ua Mutain, successor of Bairre,
noble bishop and lector, was killed by likely this is a second entry for the record robbers oftheCorca-Laighdhe, after his return
from Vespers. In 1096 died Ua Cochlain, a learned bishop and successor of Bairre. The
34 At A. D. 680 is recorded the death of Suibhne, son of Maelumha, successor of Bairre of Corcach. At 821 died Forbhasach, successor to Bairre of Corcach. At 835
necrology of the foregoing, as also of those
who succeed, is taken chiefly from the date
recorded in Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of of Corcach and Lis-mor, was mortally the Four Masters," vol.
189.
,26 "
128
In his account of Irish localities,
See AncientandPresentStateofthe
11
Bishops of
568 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 25.
a " faire " Church-yard. "9 There he gathered around him a numerous
company of monks, who according to primitive usage lived in separate cells. He also established a school, which obtained great distinction in his time. Nor are we to take the statement, as quite exact, that St. Barr erected a special cathedral at Cork ; for, it is probable, such a church differed not from his monastic one. There can be little question about his having been consecrated bishop, as many other abbots were ; but, for a long time after his death, we obtain only very uncertain and imperfect accounts concerning the Cork bishops, who were his successors. The school of St. Barr or of his monastery is only particularly alluded to in the tract called his Life. It is
Old Cathedral of Cork.
little spoken of in our more ancient documents. 130 It seems probable that the early cathedral of Cork was of very moderate size, and of primitive construction ; as during the middle ages and down to the last century, the church which served that purpose was one of very humble architectural pretensions. It passed into Protestant possession, and was used for their
I
worship until i725,'3 when it fell into decay and was then taken down, in
order to be rebuilt. An ancient round tower formerly stood in the church- yard, a little detached Jrom the cathedral. The new church was erected on
William
" Here on a
Priests and their in Theology,
Allingham says :
hillock, Bairre, alias Finn Bairre, ' the fair
dices, against
his own
quaint
founded his little church in the seventh History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. ,
'— — Barry probably from his complexion
•
,3°
"
century. "
129 See Dr. Hanmer, who adds to the
sect, iv. , and n. 63, pp. 314 to 317.
131 It is represented in the accompanying illustration, copied from that contained in
foregoing account, "wherein now standeth
a watch Tower builded the Danes. '— by
the
of the Cork Historical
and
"Journal
"Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 108, 109. The Archaeological Society," voi. i. , p. 97, by
Doctor then introduces a Legend, in which Gregor Grey, and by him drawn and very amusingly he displays peculiar preju- engraved on the wood.
terms.
See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 569 the site of the former one, and finished in 1735, when it was opened for
2
religious service. ^
According to the legend given in one of our Saint's Lives, St. Bairre went
from Cork to Rome in company with Eolang, Maedhog of Ferns, David of
Cill Muine, and twelve monks, so that he might take the grade of bishop. ^
Gregory, who was successor to Peter at that time, raised his hand over the
head of our saint to confer consecration, when a flame came on it from
Heaven while he was reciting the words of the ritual. Then Gregory said :
" Go to your house, and the Lord himself will read the gradation of Bishop
for you. " This prophecy was fulfilled, when Bairre returned to his own
church. Again it is related, that some time after our Saint settled at Corcaid.
1
St. Maccuirp, 34 the master of Barrus, returned from Rome, and was received
withhonouronhisarrival. HerelatedtothesaintallthingsthatSt. Gregory toldhimwhenatRome. Theseincidentsbeingheardof,severalothersaints came from various churches. On a day appointed, they all entered into a church and prayed, expecting the accomplishment of a Divine mystery. Whileprpying,theAngelsofGoddescendedandappearedtothem. The Angels raised St. Barr and St. Maccuirp aloft with them, and consecrated them as Bishops. Then letting them down near the altar, the manner of their episcopal consecration was manifested. Accompanying such a mira- culous occurrence, we are told, that oil broke forth from the earth near the altar, until it came over the shoes of those there standing. Then, all gave thanks to God for such miraculous events, and glorified those Saints, whom the Angels had thus consecrated. x35 On that very day, St. Barr and St. Maccuirp, as Bishops, with other clerics, marked out the cemetery of St. Barr's Church, which is called Corchadh. They afterwards consecrated it. This they also promised in the Lord's name, that after the Day of Judgment, hell should not close on any person, who should have been interred in it.
When the burial-ground attached to Cork Cathedral had been consecrated, the holy bishop Maccuirp requested that his body should be the first laid in that cemetery. His prayer was heard ; for immediately he was seized with illness. Having happily died, he was the first to be honourably interred within the Cemetery at Corchaige, by the venerable Bishop Barrus and other
holy clergymen. The deceased Bishop Maccuirp was a very saintly man, and possessed of much wisdom. ^6 If we are to admit, that Mac-corb, the preceptor of our Saint, had heard the instructions of Pope Gregory the Great, Barr must have been too young to have been consecrated bishop, about the year 600. Nor did St. Barr obtain distinction, it is supposed, until several lateryears had elapsed. ^ We may regard the account of Cork having grown into a large city, astrueonlyatatimelongsubsequenttooursaint'sdeath. Probablyavillage sprung up around Barr's monastery, situated in a part of the present city, and that it gradually grew into a large town before the arrival of the Danes.
133 See Dr. Charles Smith's "Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork,'' vol. i. , book ii. , chap, ix. , p.
372«
the Office of our saint, to which allusion has been made by the Bollandists. By them we are told, regarding St. Barr, "ad preces Ealongi elevatur in aera," ic.
I36 So also says Hanmer, speaking of this
"
133 The Rev. Thomas Olden remarks :
Barra's tra—vels are scarcely referred to in interment at Cork, but giving a different '"""
his Life. '
Leslie
Stephen's Dictionary
name
:
Torpereus, Bishop
of Cloan, his
of National Biography," vol. xix. , p. 36.
134 In the Coaex Kilkenniensis, this name
is spelled Meccuirp, and in the Bodleian
copy Maccuyribius.
135 Some reference to these miraculous
occurrences appears to have been found in
(Barr's) school-master, was the first—man that "
was buried in that church-yard. " Chro-
nicle of Ireland," p. 109.
x3? See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesias-
tical History ol Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sect, iv. , p. 314.
"
57© LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Septembersj.
These foreigners are said to have been founders of Cork, according to
x8
received tradition. 3 This statement has been questioned,'-^ however, and
the account we find in the Irish Annals of abbots presiding there, long before the arrival of the invading Danes, proves sufficiently that it had been a town of importance, which grew around the monastic school established, even so early as the seventh century.
CHAPTER III.
PERIOD OF ST. FINBARK'S SOJOURN AT CORK—DEATH OF HIS MASTER, BISHOP MACCUIRP, AND HIS BURIAL THERE—FINBARR's SELECTION OF A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR—HE VISITS I- 1 AMA AT DESERTMORE TO OBTAIN RELICS—FINBARR's VISIT TO CLOYNE, WHERE HIS DEATH TAKES PLACE—HIS INTERMENT AT CORK—ECCLESIASTICAL TRADITIONS OF THE SEE—CALENDAR CELEBRATIONS OF ST. FINBARR's FEAST— M KMORIALS—CONCLUSION.
Aperiodoffour 1 issaidtohave fromthetimeoursainterected years, elapsed,
the church of Corcach, until his death. In that place, St. Barry remained, but for what period is not exactly known, our ecclesiastical historians being
divided in on the opinion
subject.
2 After the death of his
master, Bishop
Maccuirp, St. Barr had some hesitation as to the selection of his father
confessor. He therefore thought of going to the holy senior, Eoling,3 that
he might have him as his spiritual director, or to ask him if this were
not possible, what other person could be recommended. It was supposed,
by those well informed, this holy Senior, Eoling,* had baptised our Saint.
Inspired with a prophetic spirit, Eoling had a presentiment, that St. Barry
would visit him. He thus announced the matter to his monastic family :
"
This day a holy guest, with his companions, will come to us : therefore, prepare a bath and refreshments for their arrival. " Soon, the man of Cod was received with honour. On saluting the guests, St. Eoling's attendant
said
:
* The holy Senior, our Master, is very much rejoiced at your arrival.
Letyourshoesbetakenoff, thatyourfeetmaybewashedwithwater,and
afterwards bathe. " St. Barr said, that it would be more pleasing to salute
the senior, than to bathe. When the attendant related these words to Eoling,
"
accept our hospitality for this night, that on to-morrow he may proceed to his
he thus replied :
own cell. There I will salute him ;
•3s See the local historian, Smith's " An-
cient and Present State of the County and
City of Cork," vol. i. , book ii. , chap, ix. , pp.
362, 363, 364. Also Rev. Dr. Lanigan's
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sect, iv. , and n. 62, pp. 314, 316. '» The Rev. C. B. Gibson, in his " His-
Tell St. Barr to allow his feet to be washed, and let him
"
nion ;" but he says, that the Danes may stone
indignantly rejects Smith's
received opi- and r—aths. In the church-yard is Olan's
have built the walls of Cork, when they first
quietly possessed this city in 1172. Pre- viously, they are only recorded in ancient annals, as having burnt or plundered it. See, vol. ii. ,chap. xiii. , p. 306.
Chapter hi. —' The MS. Codex Kil-
"
kenniensis has it,
'See Archdeacon Henry Cotton's
height— and
iv. annoium erat," &c.
"
for, on the seventh day, I must go to
saint's Life the name is found written Colin-
gus or Coling. In the Bodleian copy it is
written Eolyngus.
* Eoling is thought to have been the same
as St. Olan, patron of Aghabulloge, a parish in the diocese of Cloyne. In the vicinity of the church are many remains of olden times,
tory of the County and City of Cork," such as pillars, circles, oghams, rock-basins
Fasti
Ecclesiae Hibernicse," vol. i. , Diocese of St. Olan's well, by Mr. Windale, in August,
Cork, p. 215. 1851. See Mr. Richard Caulfield's "Life In the Codex Kilkenniensis copy of our of St. Fin Barre," n. (a), p. 19.
6 feet 6 inches in cap, a circular concave stone, about which there are many tradi- tions. A very fine stone, 12 feet 6 inches
in height, with an ogham inscription, was for many years used as a bridge across a narrow part of the river Dallaheena, which runs near. This stone was removed and placed upright in its original position near
a fine
ogham
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 571
him, and then we shall both salute each other, for this is pleasing to God. Such a great man should not undergo so much labour on my account ; and therefore, I will not see him, until I have had some labour for his sake. " So
it happened, as he required ; for St. Barr returned the day following. Sevendayshavingelapsed,Eolingwenttovisithim. Asthevisitorentered the church of Corchagia, he was honourably received by its venerable Bishop Barms. TheSeniorimmediatelyfelldownbeforethebishop'sfeet,saying, " Promise to accept from me, whatsoever I shall give you. " When Barrus had
u
promised compliance with that request, the holy Senior said : forever,mybody,mysoulandmyplace,toGodandtoyou. " Oursaintthen
Behold, I offer wept, and declared, that he desired to make precisely the like offering to Eolang.
"Thisshallnotbeso foryouaredearertoand replied : ;
The
greaterwithGodthanIam. ButIdemandaremunerationformyoffering from you, namely, that we should expect resurrection in the same place. "5
"
Senior
St. Barrus replied :
holy
That shall be granted you ; but you have not yet solved
my enquiry regarding your being my father confessor, for which purpose I have come to you. " St. Eoling said to him: "You will have the true confessor and friend of your soul, who is Christ ; he will now take your hand out of my hand, and hear your most pure confession. " We are told, that a great multitude of Archangels and Angels being then present, and a choir of faithful and holy men standing around, Christ our Lord took the hand of the most blessed pontiff, Barrus, from the hand of the holy senior Eoling. Having heard Barr's religious confession, our Lord dismissed him. The
6 preceding occurrence took place," it is said, at the cross of Coling, and from
such day until the death of St. Barrus, on account of its excessive brightness, his hand could not be looked upon by men, as a glove was always placed about it.
Before he had been called away from life, the holy Bishop prayed for an increase of saintly relics for his grave-yard. Then came his Angel who said :
44 Go to the up
of Criomthann, for there are relics of On Bishops. "
country
the morrow, he went to Desertmore, where he met Fiama, son of Eogan, and a synod was there engaged burying relics which he desired to obtain. He
asked what had been they
when Fiama ,l An
of the Lord spoke to me last night, and told me to come for those relics, and so I brought them away from where they had been. " Bairre then said, that very
cause brought him from home, and when Fiama asked what was to be done,
doing,
replied
;
Angel
received for reply, that the relics should be left with him. said Fiama, M and I will announce to you its reward.
That is well,"
" At
be the place good, and let there be veneration on earth for your successors. '' Wherefore, Fiama deserved giving the body of Christ to our
saint, on the day of his death. ?
When the departure of Holy Barrus was near, he told a few of his favoured
disciples that he should die in his own church. By this we are probably to understand the one he had founded at Cloyne, as appears from the context met with in his Lives. Knowing where he was to depart from this life, Barr
8
proceeded towards the cell of Cluain, to the holy Cormachus and
Buchenius. 9 Fiama also went there to meet him. Bairre then said " It is
:
5 See Dr. Hanmer's "Chronicle of Ire- 7 Such is the account as given in the land," p. 109, where Coling is called, Burgundian Manuscript Life of Fin Bairre,
chap. xxii.
8
The Codex Kilkenniensis MS. has it, "ad cellam Cluaine. "
'The Codex Kilkenniensis MS. adds:
relics be "
yours
from this to the of
Day Judgment. "
first," replied
Bairre,
" Cloane. "
Calangus a reverend Man, then Abbot of
6 In the Codex Kilkenniensis, it is called, " Crux Colingi. "
"
Let this place and its
57* LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 25.
time for me to be released from the prison of this body, and go to the King of Heaven, since now I have His summons. " When this amiable champion of Christ came to the cell of Cluain, and saluted ihe monks that
10
Having received the holy Viaticum of Christ's body and blood from Fiama," he gave up his most happyspirittoGod. ThereacrossinthemiddleofCluaincellafterwards
stood. 12 A
A multitude of men, wearing divers habits, 1 ? having been assembled, our
saint's body was brought with due honour to his own city of Corcaid. There it was buried. It is also related, that our saint died at Cloyne. 14 Moreover, it is stated, that on the occasion of his interment, the sun stood in the
lived there he was immediately seized with infirmity.
great
number of saints were around him at that time.
Heavens for fifteen 1 * his
days. Thence, body
had been translated to Cork,
to be deposited in a silver shrine.
16
Afterwards, his relics were raised by the
venerable Bishops, Abbots, Monks, Clergymen, Nuns, by numbers of the
common people assembled for this occasion. Miracles were wrought at the
in their silver shrine. ? These are said to have been preserved in the Cathedral. 18 When he was in the City of Cork, the holy bishop Fursaeus10 sawagoldenladderplacedatthetombofthismanofGod. TheLegend states, it was intended for taking up souls, to the Kingdom of Heaven. Thither, the topmost part of that ladder appeared to reach. The exact year
time. With psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles, these relics were placed 1
ao The city of Cork is situated on the River Lee21 in the southern part of a
of Finbar's death, not being known, it is conjecturally placed about a. d. 623.
county bearing the like name, and forming part of Munster province.
22
This
"Quorum memoriam superius fecimus. " Yet, we look in vain for their names, in the previous part of this Life. Perhaps, in its
present state, it may be regarded as imper- lect.
IO
lie "received the Sacrament at the hands of Calangus, ended his days, and was
16
The Bollandists remark, that the fables
"
brought to the church-yard of old Corke, xxv. , De S. Barro vel Finbarro Ep.
and there interred : shortly after followed Calangus, and then Bishop Torperus the
first Bishop of Cloane, Finbarry the first Bishop of Corke and Calangus the first
Abbot of Cloane, keep together in the dust of the earth, waiting (or the resurrection at
Manu
Corcagiensi in Hibernia, sect, ii. , num. 15, p. 144.
17 "In loculo argenteo," says the Codex Kilkenniensis.
the Last Day. " Ireland," p. 109.
" to the According
—Hanmer's " Chronicle of
Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork," p. 4.
19 His festival is recorded at the 1 6th of January, and at that date his Life is given,
in the First Volume of this work, Art. i.
Burgundian script Life of Fin Bairre, chap. xxvi.
20
''
Ecclesiastical "At a time when the Life of our saint, History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. ,
as found in the Codex Kilkenniensis had been written.
'3 Could we be sure this account had
been contemporaneous or nearly so with St.
Barr's interment, it would imply, that Giraldus Cambrensis afterwards, changed different religious costumes were worn, by a letter, and it was written, Sauranus. See our monksand or "
primitive
by lay confraternities.
clergy, perhaps Britannia," Division, Hibernia, vulgo Ireland. Momonia, Anglice Mounster, p. 38.
22
14
According to an old Office of St.
Barrus, formerly read in the Cathedral Suyskens, whilst the Irish of his day called Church at Cork, a copy of which was in it Corcah, the English named it Corcke. He
"
' s " Sol autem illius diei spatium adeo renum fluvium, qui inde versus Meridiem
protelavit, quod per quindecim dies occasum fluens, post aliquot milliaria mari Hibernico "
penitus refutavit.
possession of the Bollandists. adds :
Sedet hsec ad Sauranum seu Save-
in this office are so monstrous that they do
not deserve attention, and the only conclu-
sion to be drawn from it was that St. Barr
had great reverence paid him in the
Cathedral and by the people of Cork. See
Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. , Septembris
,8
See Richard Caulfield's "Annals of St.
See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's sect, iv. , p. 315.
21
In William Camden's Description of Ireland, he remarks, that Ptolemy having designated this river by the name Daurona ;
According to the Bollandist editor,
illabitur. " It is evident from this passage,
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 573 city is called Corcach by the Irish and Corcagia by the Latin writers. St.
Finbarr is as the first founder, usually regarded
bishop
church at Cork. That he was venerated there, and as a bishop, would
appear
Litany
"
the
25 He is thus commemorated, in the Litany
Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iii. , No. xxxii. , May, 1867, pp. 390, 391.
of " et decern sanctos /Enguss : Septem
itself, containing
episcopos cum septingentis servis Dei, qui cum B. Barrio et S. Nessano jacent Corcagise,
quorum nomina scripta sunt in ccelis, hos
"
Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xvii Martii.
omnes invoco in auxilium. "
See Colgan's
Patrono, p. 630.
"See Harris' Ware, vol. i. ,
"Bishops of
Cork," p. 556.
2? The Rev. Andrew C. Robinson, M. A. ,
attributed to St. 2 * This latter saint's death ^Engus.
from the
beingreferredtoabouttheyear824; itseemsthatSt. Barrhadbeenregarded
as the ninth theCathedralChurchatCorkgoesbacktoremoteantiquity; butitisthought
so
persons,
St. Barr there founded a Cathedral, in the beginning of the seventh
as beatified among
early
century.
6 while on the or near it, he also established a century,* site,
great seminary of learning. ^ At present, not a trace of the ancient buildings remains, and we possess very little evidence of what formerly existed there, except in some general outlines derived from entries in the Chapter Books. A Round Tower28 stood near the Cathedral, and to the east of it, during the middle ages, while the steeple was towards the west, both being apparently detached a considerable distance from the church. 29 The old Tower was twelve feet in circumference and more than one hundred feet in height before the middle of the seventeenth century. * From historical data, confirmed by a curious
archaeological discovery, we know that a church and cemetery existed there
1
The former Protestant Cathedral, as we are told, was built on the site of the early church, a few of the remains of which
for the last six hundred years. *
had been introduced into the more modern structure. *
2
This latter was
29 A building near the church, and situ- ated in an island, is called the Abbey.
30 See «' The Tour of the French Traveller, M. de la Boullaye Le Gouz, in Ireland, a. d. 1644," p. 30.
31 With respect to the cemetery, a very remarkable discovery was made, when laying the foundation of the north-east pier for the new cathedral. About this spot the limestone substratum dipped, so that in order to come
at the solid rock, it was necessary to dig down to the depth of about thirty feet. At
that depth, an ancient burial place presented
human remains for about six feet in depth, and over these was a stratum of decayed vegetable —matter mixed withearthandsmallboulders animmense boulder lying on the adjacent rock. Imme- diately above these objects, there was a De S. Nessano Prsesbytero. Corcagiensi second burial place, about seven feet deep, and over it another stratum of earth, mixed with fragments of old buildings, por- tions of decayed timber and other vegetable debris, to a depth of about three feet. Over
that Suyskens makes the extraordinary geographical mistake of placing Cork on the Severn River in England instead of on the River Lee in Ireland.
23 See Sir James Ware's " De Prsesulibus
Hibernise Commentarius," De Episcopis
Corcagiensibus, p. 206.
24 See the Irish and Latin version of this
Litany, extracted from the Book of Leinster, and published with an English translation in
recently wrote an interesting work on " St.
Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork. " It was pub-
lished, with several fine illustrations, at
Cork, 1897. Roy« 8vo. From this we far as a minute examination of the contents
derive many interesting particulars regarding
the saint and the ecclesiastical history of
Cork.
would lead, ethnological peculiarities of a very marked type were exhibited. These are described in further detail by Richard Caulfield, LL. D. , who was an eye-witness
28
"
In a Map of Cork, attached to the
2* and of the patron
all these remains was the cemetery of more' recent times ; so that there were three dis- tinct places of sepulture on the spot, and so
of the excavations and what they revealed, ""
Pacata Hibernia," of Sir George Carew,
there is a representation of the watche," as recorded in his work, Annals of St.
an object, which, from its plan of construc- tion, appears to have been the Round Tower, as a ladder is placed up against its entrance.
See chap, xix. , p. 690.
Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork. " Introduction, pp. xi. to xiii.
32 See Mr. and Mrs. Hall's " Ireland* its Scenery, Character," <\c. , vol. i. , p. 19.
2s The of origin
574 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September25.
removed in 1865, and since then, a superb structure has replaced that Cathedral.
Moreover, the bishops,33 comharbas34 or successors of St. Barri are recorded as having succeeded him in every age from his own to the present period. The monastery of St. Finbar is said to have been in or near Cork. 35 The succession of its abbots is clearly—although not consecutively— traced in our
eleventh/ and twelfth centuries.
Cormac, King of Desmond, appointed Canons Regular of St. Augustine, in honour of St. John the Baptist, about the year 1134. 41 His son and successor, Diermit, enriched it with possessions about a. d. 1173. This foundation retained its old name for many years, being called the Monastery ofSt. Finnbar'sCave. Themonasteryfoundedoriginallybyoursaintissaid to have been also called Gill Abbey, from Gilla-^Eda O'Mugin, its former abbot, and afterwards bishop of Cork, who died in
1173. 43 The succession of its abbots was preserved unbroken to the thirty-third year of Queen Elizabeth's reign, when its possessions
33 The list of Cork bishops before the this monastery near Cork had been first
Anglo-Norman Invasion, as gleaned from erected by St. Barr, and, contrary to the our Annals, is exceedingly meagre ; unless opinion of Sir James Ware, that it was
Annals, through
the seventh,36 37 38 tenth,39 eighth, ninth,
To that monastery, we are informed,
we are to suppose, that many of the chief
ecclesiastical superiors there were both
bishops and abbots. The immediate suc-
cessor of St. Finbar in the See is said to hare
been his disciple, St. Nessan, whose feast
occurs at the 1st of December, but the year
of whose death is not known. At 874 is
recorded the death of Aedh Domhnal, bishop
of Corcach, who was a learned scribe. At
891 died Soerbhreathach, son of Connadh,
scribe, wise man, bishop and abbot of Cor-
cach. In 958 Cathmogh, abbot of Lismor
and bishop of Corcach, died. In 1057
Mughron Ua Mutain, successor of Bairre,
noble bishop and lector, was killed by likely this is a second entry for the record robbers oftheCorca-Laighdhe, after his return
from Vespers. In 1096 died Ua Cochlain, a learned bishop and successor of Bairre. The
34 At A. D. 680 is recorded the death of Suibhne, son of Maelumha, successor of Bairre of Corcach. At 821 died Forbhasach, successor to Bairre of Corcach. At 835
necrology of the foregoing, as also of those
who succeed, is taken chiefly from the date
recorded in Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of of Corcach and Lis-mor, was mortally the Four Masters," vol.
